I had read a tutorial a ways back about making hosen out of suit pants and I decided to make my own drawstring pants with the same sort of method.

I bought a bunch of 100% wool suit pants from Good Will for $3.99 each. I'm sure you can find these at thrift stores as well. The trick is to get 100% wool suit pants, preferably worsted wool. Get pants that are many sizes too big for you and too long. You will need a way to sew, a seam ripper, scissors, pins, safety pin, a pair of pants or pajamas that fit similarly to your desired result for your project, and something to use for a drawstring.

1. Start first by cutting off the whole top strip where the button/clip at the top is. You will be cutting through the belt loops too. This will allow any pleats to be freed up and get rid of most of the modern looking parts. Then remove the belt loops with the seam ripper.

8. Flip the pants inside out and try them on. I also layed them out and matched them up to drawstring pajamas that fit me loosely. Lay the pants so that the existing side seam is exactly at the side. Also, get the pocket out of the way and ignore it for measuring reasons. I then measured 1 inch in and pinned it all the way down the leg. This will carry based on your size and the size of the pants. Sew up the sides while the garb is inside out until you get the size you want. Notice, this also gets rid of the side pockets.

11. Attach the safety pin to the end of your drawstring and use it to help you pull it through the belt line tube you just sewed after cutting 2 holes where a button would have been if these were jeans. Cut the rope so that there is only a few inches of slack when the pants are fully stretched out. Knot near each rope end.

12. Go in and cut out all the extra junk inside the pants: excess pant that is now useless, pocket material, lining you don't want, etc.

13. Try the pants on, notice the back pockets are really high up and easily concealable by a tunic, iron out the pleats and creases, and go fight somebody in your $4, 100% wool pants!

Ok, so I have fought in these a handful of times now and I ripped the zipper part a little bit. I have added some text to the tutorial to say that reinforcing the zipper area well will help it stay together much longer.

It's been a few more weeks now and one more rip in the lower butt area. These were easy to repair but I have bought some other wool suit pants that are made of slightly thicker and seemingly more durable wool. I will update after I finish those.

You may wish to consider adding a small gusset to your pattern. They make the space between the leggings a bit more "poofy", but the amount of give they add to those stress points in the crotch is totally worth it. I currently wear salwar when I fight, and the gusset in them is so ridiculously large that I never bust seams.

Thanks for keeping up on updating your results with this pattern.

_________________"It is a brave act of valour to contemn death; but where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valour to dare to live."

I've been fighting in these for about 3 months now about once a week and they have needed one zipper area re-stitch and now have a hole in the left knee. It ripped while fighting in a gym with no knee pads (dumb on my part). The zipper re-stitch has held. I am going to do another one of these with the thicker wool suit pants soon. I'll update with how it goes!